Order of Pedals

[bartyclue]

Not sure if this is the right forum (Mod you can let me know if it isn't) but I am curious as to if a lot of you use effect pedals with your Ric's. I have a pedal board and I want to know if there is a preferred way to order the "chaining" of pedals.

I use:

Tuner
Flanger
Chorus
Delay
Compressor Enhancer

These are all bass pedals and are all made by Boss. I want to use better pedals but for now I am using Boss. Anybody have a suggestion on what order they should be in? Tuner first or last etc? I dont think I have hooked them up the same way twice and I think sometimes my bass sounds different than others.

[jimk]

I've been told to put the compressor first. But I'm a guitar player. So here's my set-up
I play my 360/12 string through the Rick-O-Sound jack
Neck PU-->Jangle Box -->Music Man RD-Fifty-110
Bridge PU-->DOD Compressor-->MXR Carbon Copy Delay-->Vox AC15C1

JimK

[paologregorio]

Whatever you do, make sure you don't put the chorus pedal in the signal path between the chorus pedal and your guitar!

I do Guitar>tuner>Distortion>Overdrive>Compressor>Delay>Reverb>Chorus>FX loop>amp. Works for me.

[blueflamerick]

You'll get a different answer from everyone you ask/every website or magazine article you read.

Ultimately, play around with the order and stick to what you feel sounds best.

That said, I always place my tuner 1st followed by a compressor. Chorus, fuzz/distortion, octave, and synth follow that, each with the level set so there is no discernible difference in volume when each pedal is on or off.

[jingle_jangle]

A good overview:


http://users.chariot.net.au/~gmarts/fx-order.htm

Something to remember, though--if you're using a noise gate, it should be in front of the chain, and reverb last.

[JakeK]

Ever since I gave my MXR Dyna Comp to Paul A, my boards had a giant gape in it for a Cry Baby Wah. I do it like this: Guitar<wah<compressor<overdrive/distortion/fuzz<tuner

[jps]

Guitar<wah<compressor<overdrive/distortion/fuzz<tuner

I would think you'd want the tuner first in line to ensure a clean signal for it in addition to it's muting capability, if it has that.

[craigh]

I would go tuner, wah, compressor & last reverb.

Craig

[8mileshigher]

i recall seeing an explanation of the sound signal-chain and recommendations for pedal order placement in the Boss Users Group, which I think is a link on the Boss company website. "Order in the Court" or something like that was the article. Not sure if guitars and basses have the same order functionality and signal-chain requirements.

[whojamfan]

Ah-this is definitely one of those topics of debate that ultimately can only be answered by your ears. Many of the great sounds you have come to love were crerated in the most unconventional of ways, probably starting back with Les Paul and Mary Ford playing in caves for reverb.
There are "right" ways to do this, but keep in mind that it was once wrong for an amp to distort, and for speakers to breakup, as well as feedback was a mistake. So, take this all with a grain of salt, and let your ears decide.
I'll share a few personal experiences of my own, as they relate to a simple breakdown of what the effects do, and hopefully, you'll be able to get closer to The sound that YOU want. The amplifier plays a big role in the sound as well, so I will include it's usage as well.
1) Compressors-these guys basically turn up the quiet notes and turn down the louder ones, given an even volume across what you are playing. At least that is what they are supposed to do-haha. When the quiet note gets turned up, whatever background noise that was present before the compressor, gets turned up too. If that isn't bad enough, the louder note that gets turned down makes the background noise louder as well. So, this is why it is the popular train of thought to have the compressor be the first thing the guitar gets plugged into.
2) Wah-usually plugged in after a compressor, as the volume drop in using a wah can have an unpleasant pumping effect on the sound. Might not happen to you, but I've heard it, and it's not pleasant. Popular is before dirty boxes, as after can make the high end sweep of the wah hurt dogs ears 2 miles away. Never use one in an amplifiers effects loop!
3)Autowah/envelope filters and Pitch/octave goodies-place right before your dirty boxes for more control and clarity, or after for more insane type stuff.
4)Dirty Boxes-Distortion, overdrive, fuzz-yes, the 8 million of these little "must have" boxes that promise to make you the best player in the world-haha-right? Well anyways, these things basically take you signal and over amplify it in various stages to give you different levels of dirt. This, like the compressor, also greatly amplifies the noise caused by the process. So, this is why most say to place your dirt after the compressor, to cut down on the extraneous noise, or even worse, a greatly increased 60 cycle hum from single coil pickups. Don't even think about using 1 through your effects loop, as you can seriously damage your ears, amp, speakers, and marriage.
5)Modulation-Chorus, flange, phase, and most of those Electro Harmonix pedals with the funky names-Cleanest=through the effects loop of an amp, Clean=after dirty boxes. These will introduce noise through dirty boxes that you may or may not like. This is the fun experimentation part, as you can stumble upon some sounds that can really take you strange places.
6)Tremolo-either last, or before reverb however you have you rig set up. Tremolo loses it's effectiveness the more you put after it. Really best through an amplifiers effects loop.
7)Delay and Reverb-Cleanest through an amplifiers effects loop, last 2 in the chain(unless you are also using tremolo-place the three where you think they sound best)
Ok, now in the early years of amps, there were no effects loops, or dirty boxes. What you had were standalone reverb and tape delay units that would plug stright into the amp. The amp would create it's natural overdrive by cranking it up, and many beautiful, classic sounds were created this way. So your old school chain was guitar-echoplex-reverb-amp-and if in a studio recording-a compressor. Not exactly the popular opinion of how to set things up, but hey, sounded killer, and still does for most things.
Effects Loops-these are points in an amplifier where the signal can be routed out of it just after the preamp stage(where all of your amps distortion and eq controls are, plugged into external effects devices, and routed back into your amp directly to the power section. This was done so modulation effects wouldn't have to be distorted through the preamp section, and add serious noise to the signal. This is also good for reverb, delay, and trem. Again, many great sounds were made through running everything through th front of the amp, so just check it out for yourself.
One thing to really keep in mind about effects and amplifiers is that headroom is a key factor in getting these sounds to come out of the amp with clarity and definition. Cranking a little tube amp with tons of effects in front of it probably isn't going to sound very good, where as to use something like a twin will definitely let your effects shine.
Boosters-absolutely useless when used with dirty boxes unless you have the headroom to work with. Your amp will only handle so much signal before it just starts getting too thick and sticky in a nasty way. You will think you stepped on something the dog left rather than your booster. Boosters are generally best last in line to the amp. You can always try turning down the output level of your other effects to help the booster do it's job, but it's really up to the amp.
Hope this bit has helped, and again I encourage everyone to play around with orders and such until they find what's best for them.

[whojamfan]

Guitar<wah<compressor<overdrive/distortion/fuzz<tuner

I would think you'd want the tuner first in line to ensure a clean signal for it in addition to it's muting capability, if it has that.

Uh, hello, guitar players haha
Yeah, definitely put that tuner where it will get the best signal and you can utilize it's muting capabilities(if it has them).

[aceonbass]

I've had all of these pedals at one time or another and this is the order I would use.
Tuner/Compressor/Chorus/Flanger/Delay

[indianation65]

Rule is simple...salt and pepper, add and adjust according to "taste." The only question I ever ponder on this topic from forum to forum is the issue of "first" and "last." Which side do you consider as first and last. First is on the guitar side or the amplifier side?

...wisdom through curiosity

[jimk]

The only question I ever ponder on this topic from forum to forum is the issue of "first" and "last." Which side do you consider as first and last. First is on the guitar side or the amplifier side?

...wisdom through curiosity

I never thought of that before. I'd have figured first is the pedal closest to the guitar.
JimK

[cjj]

Yeah, in general, most people think in terms of signal flow. It starts at the guitar, then goes through stomp boxes, etc. then the preamp, etc. So first would be closest to the guitar.

Of course, there are always those who are different...